By Sheila Yonemoto, PT
Throughout my career as a physical therapist, I have worked with a variety of people from all different backgrounds. Here are just a few: scientists, CEOs from a variety of industries, nuns, priests, former gang members, elite athletes, Grammy Award-winning musicians, artists, actors, people leaving their countries for religious persecution, Nobel laureates, attorneys, teachers, bank tellers, shopkeepers, retail clerks, veterans with PTSD, survivors of rape, rich people, poor people, survivors of potential homicide, survivors of attempted suicide, people with cancer, people who were dying.
I have learned from all of them; learned different points of view; learned which traits I wanted to develop in myself; learned what makes people strong, happy, unhappy, bitter, resilient.
It has been such a great career to have exposure to so many different people. It has been a career that has a focus on common goals — helping to make people have better function, to reach their potential, working to help them be the best that they can be so that they can make a difference in this world. Doesn’t matter who they are — just showing they can be better and do more. After all, we are all members of the human race.
People have common characteristics — each wants to be out of pain; want to function better and live a normal life; want to be happy; want to have peace; want love; want to have less stress; lose weight; be more attractive; want to sleep better; want companionship; want their children to be happy and having productive lives; want to matter. Doesn’t that sound like normal human desires?
I feel lucky to have so much exposure, to have so many opportunities to see different points of view as it provides shortcuts to learning important lessons from life.
So ask yourself: Can you find something that you can do to make life a little bit or even a lot better? If each of us did something every day to make our lives better, wouldn’t that be a great improvement for the whole world? Imagine how life could be.
Sheila Yonemoto, P.T., has been a physical therapist for more than 40 years, specializing in integrative manual therapy, utilizing a holistic approach. She can be reached at Yonemoto Physical Therapy, 55 S. Raymond Ave., Suite 100, Alhambra, CA 91801. She also offers a qigong “Chinese energy” exercise class. Your first class is free. Call (626) 576-0591 for more information or visit www.yonemoto.com.